{"id":2003546,"date":"2023-08-17T11:48:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T15:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donor-family-sues-college-for-stripping-ancestors-name-from-campus-chapel\/"},"modified":"2023-08-17T11:51:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T15:51:48","slug":"donor-family-sues-college-for-stripping-ancestors-name-from-campus-chapel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donor-family-sues-college-for-stripping-ancestors-name-from-campus-chapel\/","title":{"rendered":"Donor family sues college over ancestor&#8217;s chapel name removal."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdonor-family-sues-college-for-stripping-ancestors-name-from-campus-chapel%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2003546&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A Vermont Judge Allows Lawsuit Against Middlebury College to Proceed<\/h2>\n<p>A Vermont judge has ruled that a \u2064lawsuit\u200d against Middlebury College will move forward. The college had\u2063 removed the name of a prominent donor, Dr. John \u2064Abner Mead, from the campus chapel due to his \u2063views \u2062on eugenics. The lawsuit, filed by the donor&#8217;s family, claims that the college removed the\u2063 name without warning or public discussion. The family is seeking the restoration\u2062 of the name \u200bor \u200bits full monetary value, plus interest.<\/p>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/virginia-donors-demand-3-6-billion-from-university-for-removing-ancestors-name-5054846\">Virginia Donors Demand $3.6 Billion \u200cFrom University for Removing Ancestor&#8217;s Name<\/a> &#8211; 2\/14\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/abraham-lincoln-bust-gettysburg-address-plaque-removed-from-cornell-university-library-after-complaint-4568274\">Abraham Lincoln Bust, Gettysburg Address Plaque Removed From Cornell University Library &#8216;After Complaint&#8217;<\/a> &#8211; 6\/30\/2022<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23912263-complaint-plaintiff-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">79-page \u2063lawsuit<\/a> states that Dr. Mead paid \u2063$75,000 to have the Mead Memorial Chapel built in 1914. \u2064The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/she-accused-him-of-sexual-assault-the-school-said-she-wasnt-incapacitated-but-did-not-consent-when-she-said-yes\/\" title=\"She Accused Him Of Sexual Assault. The School Said She Wasn\u2019t Incapacitated But Did Not Consent When She Said \u2018Yes.\u2019\">lawsuit argues<\/a> that the chapel bearing his name was a condition of the\u2064 donation.\u200c If the name is not restored, the plaintiffs are \u200dseeking its full \u200bmonetary\u2063 value, which amounts to about $2.23\u200c million in today&#8217;s \u2062dollars.<\/p>\n<p>In\u2063 a statement on its website, Middlebury College explained that the decision to remove the \u2064Mead name was prompted by \u200da public apology\u200b issued by\u2062 the Vermont Legislature in 2021. The apology acknowledged the\u200d state&#8217;s past involvement in eugenics policies. The college cited a speech made by \u200bDr. Mead in 1912, in which he \u2063expressed support for eugenics. However, former Vermont governor James Douglas argues that\u2064 this does not represent the entirety of Dr. Mead&#8217;s character and contributions.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Douglas, who is an alum of Middlebury College and teaches political \u200dscience there, is representing the Mead family \u2062in the lawsuit. He believes that the \u200ccollege \u200bis holding \u200dsomeone from \u200cthe past to\u2064 present-day\u200d standards, which he sees as a form of &#8220;cancel culture.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Two Governors, One Battle<\/h2>\n<p>Middlebury College, a private school with about 2,800 undergraduates and a $1.5 billion endowment, is at the center of this legal battle. Dr. Mead&#8217;s descendants contacted Mr. Douglas \u2064after learning about\u2064 the removal of the name. They are seeking justice and the restoration of their ancestor&#8217;s name.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Mead&#8217;s story\u200c at Middlebury College began when\u200c he fought in the American Civil War \u2064and\u200c eventually graduated in 1864. He went on to have a \u200dsuccessful career as a businessman, physician, politician, and \u200dphilanthropist. He served as Vermont&#8217;s lieutenant governor and governor. He funded the construction of the chapel in 1914 and passed away in 1920.<\/p>\n<p>The family&#8217;s lawsuit accuses Middlebury College of breach of contract \u200bfor removing the name from the chapel. Mr. Douglas, as a special administrator of the Mead Estate, is representing the family&#8217;s interests.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Under\u200c Cover of Darkness&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>According to Mr. Douglas, the decision to remove the \u2063Mead name was made without transparency. He discovered\u200d the change when he saw an empty \u200bspace\u2063 where the\u200d nameplate used to be. Efforts to \u2064communicate with campus administrators and board members\u2062 were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p>Middlebury College&#8217;s online statement included a link to a transcript \u200bof Dr. Mead&#8217;s speech from \u200c1912. The \u2064college concluded that the\u2064 name of \u2062a\u2062 former governor promoting eugenics is not consistent with its values in the 21st\u200b century. \u2062However, Mr. Douglas questions \u200bthe wisdom\u2063 of \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donor-family-sues-college-for-stripping-ancestors-name-from-campus-chapel\/\" title=\"Donor family sues college over ancestor's chapel name removal.\">erasing historical \u2064figures based<\/a> on aspects of their past that are now deemed unacceptable.<\/p>\n<h2>Apologizing for Eugenics<\/h2>\n<p>The lawsuit argues that the college made distorted accusations against Dr. Mead and failed to \u200bconsider his overall history.\u2063 It points out that Dr. Mead died before the Vermont Legislature enacted\u200d eugenics-based legislation. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-victory-speech-warnock-doubles-down-on-voter-suppression-rhetoric\/\" title=\"In Victory Speech, Warnock Doubles Down on Voter Suppression Rhetoric\">legislation resulted<\/a> in a\u2062 state-sanctioned \u2064eugenics\u2062 movement that targeted indigenous people and other groups. \u200dThe\u200c Vermont Legislature issued a \u200dformal apology for this 90 years later,\u2063 which led to the college&#8217;s review of Dr. Mead.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Mead&#8217;s descendants believe that the college wronged their ancestor and are seeking justice through the legal system. They argue that the removal of the name from \u2064the chapel was\u200c unnecessary and unjust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Vermont judge rejected Middlebury College&#8217;s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them for removing a prominent donor&#8217;s name from the campus chapel due to his eugenics views. The 223-year-old college will now face legal proceedings as the case moves forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":904,"featured_media":2003547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2003546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/904"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2003546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2003547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2003546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2003546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2003546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}